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Colorado House, Senate to cast final votes on gun-check law Friday

By Kurtis LeeThe Denver Post

Posted:
03/14/2013 07:54:50 PM MDT

Updated:
03/14/2013 11:55:05 PM MDT

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate on Friday are set to vote on a measure that requires universal background checks to be conducted for all Colorado gun sales, in what's expected to be yet another day of marathon floor debate.

House Bill 1229 was heard Thursday in a conference committee that included Democrat and Republican lawmakers from both chambers. There, minor amendments to language in the bill that relate to gun transfers between family members and how corporations handle background checks were made.

The Senate will vote on the amended version of the bill Friday, and immediately after the vote, members of the House will take up the measure and cast votes.

Democrats, who control the House and Senate, have already passed the bill, but because of minor amendments, the two chambers must recast votes. Republicans have assailed it as an infringement on Second Amendment rights.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said he supports the bill and would sign it into law if it arrives on his desk.

Some bipartisanship might emerge from the debate Friday as Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, is set to unveil a measure that addresses guns and mental health — which is the final gun measure among a package of bills Democrats have labeled as comprehensive "gun safety" proposals.

"The bill is essentially designed to help keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them," McCann said.

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When Democrats held a news conference in early February, the bill was described as directing mental health professionals to notify the Colorado Bureau of Investigation if they conclude a person poses a danger of serious physical harm to themselves or others. Those names would be entered into a database used for background checks prior to a gun purchase. The bill is said to provide an opportunity to have gun rights restored to individuals through the courts should they be taken away as a result of having mental health issues.

Throughout the contentious debate over guns that's occurred in the House and Senate, Republicans have forcefully denounced Democratic gun legislation and said mental health is key to combating mass shootings.

Hickenlooper has also stressed the need for gun legislation that addresses mental health.

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